Kansas football: Replacing OC Mike DeBord was the right move
Kansas football head coach Lance Leipold has released his staff list for the upcoming season and it features some exciting names.
Following Leipold’s hire, it was expected that some coaches were going to be let go. Among them, OC Mike DeBord, who will be leaving Kansas after a brief stint with the program after his hire in February.
Former Buffalo offensive coordinator, Andy Kotelnicki, will be taking DeBord’s place on Kansas’ coaching staff to usher in the Leipold era.
Kotelnicki holds experience from his previous job at Buffalo, supporting Leipold’s staff at Buffalo since 2014.
Previously, DeBord was brought in at Kansas by former head coach Les Miles to lead his offense following the departure of old friend Brent Dearmon to Middle Tennessee.
His past experienced Michigan, Indiana, and even some time in the defunct Alliance of American Football league.
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The Jayhawks welcomed DeBord’s leadership this spring and the offense was in the initial stages of his plan before Coach Leipold’s hire.
In hindsight, Kansas might’ve dodged a bullet here. DeBord does have extensive coaching experience, however, he’s failed to put a winning record on his last three college seasons and his short tenure at Central Michigan wasn’t much to be excited about either.
It is a much different game now and for Kansas, that is everything. A lot is changing these days and fans may have been skeptical about how well DeBord was going to mesh into the new climate of college football.
Under Leipold and Kotelnicki, there’s some optimism. Both have experience with each other and are surrounded by engaged, familiar faces.
This is something Kansas should be glad to have in its corner right now, considering how poor of a start the Jayhawks’ offseason got off to.
Plenty of work still needs to be done, but Kansas is at least moving in a more positive direction.
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